"
The fair cousins, after exchanging looks which implied a fear that her
mind was wandering, answered her in soothing terms, and finally prevailed
upon her to accompany them to the banqueting-hall. Here the first person
they encountered was the Baron Fitzosborne of Diggswell, now divested of
his armour; at the sight of whom the Lady Emma changed colour, and
exclaiming, "It is the same!" sunk senseless into the arms of Matilda.
"She is bewildered by the terrors of the day," said Eleanor; "and we have
done ill in obliging her to descend."
"And I," said Fitzosborne, "have done madly in presenting before her one
whose presence must recall moments the most alarming in her life."
While the ladies supported Emma from the hall, Lord Boteler and St. Clere
requested an explanation from Fitzosborne of the words he had used.
"Trust me, gentle lords," said the Baron of Diggswell, "ye shall have
what ye demand, when I learn that Lady Emma Darcy has not suffered from
my imprudence."
At this moment Lady Matilda, returning, said that her fair friend, on her
recovery, had calmly and deliberately insisted that she had seen
Fitzosborne before, in the most dangerous crisis of her life.
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